The Dartmouth men's and women's squash teams both won against Williams on Wednesday night, Jan. 6, in Williamstown, Mass.
The women overcame an initial deficit to post a 6-3 victory.
"Unfortunately, we had a couple of problems with two of the girls being ill, Crosby Haynes '04 at No. 2 and Jessica Vyrostko '06 at No. 4," said assistant coach David Heath. "They were first on the court and they didn't do so well in their matches. Jess fought hard and lost in five."
However, Dartmouth's problems were not over, as Kaitlin Yaremchuk '04 also lost early on. Yaremchuk, who just moved up to No. 9 in the team, won her first two games but ultimately lost 3-2.
At this point, Dartmouth was down 3-2, with No. 3 Julia Drury '06 down 2-0 in her game.
"We were not looking well at that time," Heath said.
But Drury showed incredible mental strength and came back to win her game 3-2. Eventually all the rest of the women won as well.
"It was a closely contested match and in the end we are happy with the 6-3 win," Heath added. No. 8 Martha Ucko '05 also recovered from being down 2-1 and eventually came out a winner of a very close match.
The men's squash team hardly had any problems, defeating their opponents 8-1. Even though it looked as though it was smooth sailing for Dartmouth, there were some close games and critical recoveries after being down in multiple matches.
"I think that 8-1 probably flattered Dartmouth. It was possibly a little bit closer than that," Heath said.
Neither Ryan Donegan '05 nor Todd Wood '07 had problems, at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively.
"Todd has been impressive this year." Heath said. "In the beginning, he was No. 6 or 7, and he made his way to No. 2 incredibly quickly. Ryan at No. 1 is also improving on his game and has a lot to give to the team."
With the other freshmen in the team also showing potential, Dartmouth certainly has the chance to improve on last year's 8th position in the overall collegiate standings.
After the win, the men's team now stands at 3-0 this season. They have been impressive so far this season, winning the three matches away from home and only giving away two games in two 8-1 wins.
The men will travel to Amherst, Mass. for a road contest against Amherst next Wednesday.
The women, who moved to 2-0, will also look to continue their unbeaten run with against Amherst.
